The hot springs shimmered under the hush of nightfall, steam rising like prayers from the water's surface. Trees arched overhead in quiet reverence, their branches jeweled with droplets from the earlier rain. The moon sat full and wide above them, casting silver across the glade and catching in the ripples of the pool. The stars had come in close—bold, watchful, as if holding their breath.
The others had drifted naturally into their own corners of peace.
Boo lounged on a smooth, wet stone with a half-drained flask tucked beside her hip. Her legs stretched languidly in the water, bare and glistening in the low moonlight. Eurydice sat next to her, knees pulled close, the tips of her hair still glowing faintly with leftover healing light. Their conversation drifted between teasing banter and quiet murmurs. Every now and then, they laughed—sharp, fleeting slices of sound that echoed over the stone like joy lost in a dream.
Perseus had settled deeper into the pool, chin resting on the crook of his arm at the edge, eyes half-lidded. He didn't speak much. Just watched. Listened. Let the peace seep into his bones.
Miri hovered in the center of the spring, arms floating at her sides, expression unreadable. She hadn't joined either conversation. Her gaze flicked between voices, smiles, shadows.
And on the far side of the spring—distant, submerged in her own silence—sat Nyxia.
She faced away from the others, the steaming water lapping at her waist. Her tail drifted across the surface like a phantom limb. Her back, rigid. Damp strands of silver hair clung to her shoulders and spine. Her hands rested on her thighs, fingers curled. Her breathing came shallow, rhythm hollow.
Beside her, Loque lay half in, half out of the water, his pale ghost-form luminous in the dark. His glowing eyes swept the others, then turned to Nyxia.
She hadn't spoken in a while. Not since the tears.
Then, in a whisper so soft it nearly vanished into steam—
"If I change… if I fall too far…"
Her voice cracked.
"Will you stay?"
No hesitation.
"Always."
A breath. A heartbeat.
"And if you can't find me again…?" she choked.
Loque shifted, resting his head lightly against her arm.
"I will."
Her breath broke.
Nyxia folded forward, brow pressing to his neck. His fur was warm and solid beneath her cheek. No words followed—just small, shaky exhales trembling at the edges. Her fingers clung to him, not for safety, but for something deeper.
Proof that she was still here.
Still herself.
They don't hate you, cub, Loque rumbled gently in her mind. They're giving you space. But they'll come. Let them.
Across the spring, Eurydice stopped laughing.
Her eyes drifted toward the far side—drawn not by sound, but something softer. She saw Nyxia curled in on herself, steam clinging to her like silk, her silhouette trembling beneath the moonlight.
Something in Eurydice's expression crumpled. That fierce, mothering ache rose like a tide.
She stood.
Boo glanced over. "You good?"
"Nyxia needs us."
A long beat.
"…Yeah," Boo murmured, her smirk gone. "Yeah, she does."
She stretched like a lounging cat, then slid into the water behind Eurydice, that glimmer of mischief already curling back into her eyes. "If we're going in, I'm not just hugging. I'm bringing joy."
"Be gentle," Eurydice warned, casting a soft glow across the pool.
"I'm always gentle. Eventually."
Ripples moved behind Nyxia. She didn't notice them at first.
Until Boo's hands settled gently on her shoulders.
She tensed.
"Shhh," Boo purred, brushing aside a damp lock of hair. "It's just me. I saw you sulking and figured it was time for a proper distraction."
Nyxia tried to sit up straighter, but Boo slid in behind her and wrapped both arms around her, loose and warm.
"If anyone's earned a little pampering, it's you, void-beast-slaying snow kitten."
Nyxia let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
Boo's fingers traced patterns over her arms—more massage than mischief now. "You're safe. We all are. Because of you."
Nyxia leaned back slightly.
Then, with a smirk—"Also, Eurydice didn't warn me your boobs were this perfect."
"Honestly," Boo said, deadpan. "Perseus should be over here worshiping at the temple of Nyx."
"Boo…" Nyxia groaned, but the sound trembled with a flicker of laughter.
"I'm just saying," Boo nudged her cheek with hers, "you survive trauma, save the group, and still manage to defy gravity. That's heroic."
Eurydice flushed but smiled, stepping in on Nyxia's other side. "She teases because she loves you."
"I know," Nyxia murmured, voice thick.
Eurydice gathered her close from the other side, arms folding around her with quiet, unshakable grace.
"You're not too much," she whispered into Nyxia's temple. "You're never too much."
Nyxia closed her eyes.
The silence between them was warm. Holding.
Then—
"Perseus," Boo called across the water. "Hey, gold boy. Wanna see something incredible?"
Perseus blinked. "What?"
Boo cupped Nyxia's breasts with dramatic flair. "Come admire the war hero properly!"
Nyxia groaned, face in her hands. "Oh my gods…"
"I tried to stop her," Eurydice murmured.
"No, you didn't."
"Mmm~ really I did…"
Eurydice cast Perseus a look full of mischievous heat. Boo trailed kisses down Nyxia's neck, her hand sliding down her hip with sensuous care.
"Someone's missing out," Boo purred.
"With this much attention, I should be charging a viewing fee," Nyxia muttered, blushing.
Perseus opened his mouth. Closed it. He looked like a man on the verge of spiritual collapse.
"I—" The sound died in his throat.
"Boo~ Perseus doesn't want to play. Tragic."
She gave Nyxia's shoulder one last squeeze and drifted away with Eurydice, who cast a warm look back before following.
Perseus hesitated.
Then stepped forward.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I missed you."
Nyxia blinked. Her voice barely above a breath. "I didn't mean to be so far away."
"You're not," he said. "You're here."
The mist curled around them. Perseus reached out—not as a paladin, not as a protector—just as someone who didn't want to lose her again.
His hand hovered.
Then settled gently over hers.
A silence stretched between them—not empty.
Just full.
"I didn't know how to help," he said. "Not when you pulled away. I thought I had to fix it. Fix you. But maybe I just needed to stay."
Nyxia's gaze searched his.
"I didn't need fixing," she whispered. "Just someone who'd wait."
His fingers closed around hers.
"Then I'll wait. However long you need."
A breathless laugh slipped from her lips.
"Good. Because I'm still finding my way back."
He smiled—soft, uncertain, but real.
"Then let's walk it together."
—
Loque padded past them with deliberate slowness, tail flicking as if to say enough drama. Each step sent soft ripples across the water like punctuation.
Boo's voice echoed from the far edge of the spring, singsong and smug.
"Alright, lovebirds—rinse off your heartbreak and put your pants back on before the forest decides you're dessert!"
Eurydice was already climbing from the pool, glowing slightly in the moonlight, a thick towel in her arms.
"There's a stone shelf up the ridge. Dry and sheltered. Should be safe."
Miri nodded once.
Nyxia and Perseus rose together.
Water trailed from Nyxia's skin in glimmering lines. She looked at him.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not letting go."
—
They dressed in relative silence. But not a heavy one.
By the time they reached the stone shelf, Eurydice had already begun making a makeshift nest. Blankets were spread. Satchels unpacked. A few glowstones lit the rockface with warmth.
Loque circled the edge and curled like a guardian made of starlight.
Nyxia settled beside him. Perseus at her other side.
When Boo flopped down with a groan and muttered something about "cuddlepiles and emotional whiplash," Eurydice just smiled and draped a blanket over her.
The stars watched.
The woods breathed deep.
And in the hush of the spring's afterglow…
The world let them rest.
And somewhere beneath it all—
Nyxia believed she was still allowed to.